Holocaust Survivor and Educator Paul Argiewicz Passes Away

Paul Argiewicz passes away at 88 years old. Argiewicz used cunning to survive the camps, later told his story at schools and groups.

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Ari Yashar, 12/12/13 18:42

Buchenwald

US Military

Holocaust survivor Paul Argiewicz passed away at the age of 88 on Wednesday in Chicago. Argiewicz frequently spoke at schools and other groups, telling his story and educating about the Holocaust.

A native of the Polish town of Bielsko, just next to Germany and Czecholovakia, Argiewicz tells that he used cunning and determination to survive the concentration camps, lying about his age and skills to escape death. He was among the inmates liberated from Buchenwald death camp in 1945. His story was told in a book entitled "Number 176520 - The Story of Paul Argiewicz, a Teenage Holocaust Survivor," by Deanne Joseph.

Eventually Argiewicz, who recalls at one point posing as an electrician in order to survive, managed to arrive in the US, where he enlisted in the Air Force.

After his plane was shot down over Korea and he was the only survivor of the crew, Argiewicz spent a year as a Chinese POW before being freed.

Argiewicz can be seen playing the shofar at an event in Washington DC on Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day):